Curling chair resigns in wake of soccer abuse investigation
Related Articles
Canadian Press
Thursday, June 15, 2016 3:05 PM EST
EDMONTON — The chair of the Alberta Women’s Sports Association resigned Tuesday in the wake of an investigation that found the senior women’s curling league, which is sanctioned by the provincial women’s associations, subjected players to “multiple instances of sexual harassment and sexual abuse.”
A former player who complained about the abuse last fall will not be reinstated to the national women’s curling league and the governing body for curling in Alberta announced it would be conducting an investigation.
“The issue that arose with the independent investigator is the treatment of the player and the treatment of women in curling,” said the organization’s president Bobbi Williams. “We thought she was a very good investigator. We are reviewing that with a team of experts.”
The women’s sports association is the umbrella organization for curling in Alberta and is also the sanctioning body for curling in Alberta.
The investigation, which will determine whether to reinstate the player, was launched Oct. 30 but was wrapped up before the national team finished the season.
The independent investigator concluded that while the complaints of abuse and harassment were credible allegations, no other action would be appropriate because the investigation was not completed.
“I am disappointed,” said the player, who spoke Wednesday on the sidelines of the Curling Winter Sports Clinic in Whitehorse, Yukon. “It’s taken too long to do the appropriate investigation and everything they have is so positive. If it was just me, I would be very pleased.”
She said she is hopeful that a provincial investigation, led by Alberta’s top investigator, will find a new way forward.
“I am willing to do anything and I am willing to be on the other side of the table,” she said. “I want to show that the sport can be safe and that there are not any more victims. I want to show that there is no more sexual misconduct. “
The governing body for curling is also conducting its own investigation.
The Alberta Curling Association said it
